Odisha govt task force on land allotments a ‘joke’, says Bijay

Senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra today described the setting up of a task force by the Odisha government to review all land allotments made by the BDA and the CDA under the discretionary quota as a ‘joke’.

In his reactions on the constitution of the task force, the senior leader said the state government’s brain had gone haywire since it is searching for something in a river which it had lost in the sea.

Mohapatra said the CAG, in its report in 2013, had mentioned for the first time about a minister acquiring land illegally. The CAG had clearly named Kalpataru Das in its report, he added.

The senior BJP leader further said the CAG had written to the government on January 4 and 24 to cancel multiple plots in the names of Kalpataru Das and his family members.

Mohapatra asked why the government was not coming clean on what action it had taken against Kalpataru Das on the matter. “The one thing comes out clear from this is that it has all happened with the chief minister’s knowledge,” he said.

The BJP leader said the government is making a joke of itself by constituting a task force.

Senior BJD leader and Excise and Cooperation minister Dama Rout, who came out in defence of the government, said the CAG’s report against Kalpataru Das was not final and according to rules, it’s only after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)’s scrutiny that action is taken.

Rout said the government had formed the task force to examine the land allotments and the irregularities committed in it and recommend action depending on the gravity of the offence committed.

Government chief whip Ananta Das was also critical of Mohapatra’s criticism of the government in the matter.